How to help your storm phobic dog

☔️ Over the past few weeks, we’ve had extreme rainfall and wind across the South East, which may have left you wondering how to reduce your dog’s stress and anxiety when we get these intense weather events. 

Our local Gold Coast vet, Dr Karen, at Ashmore City Vets can safely recommend Thunder Shirts for mild cases of doggy storm phobia. 

The famous "anxiety vests for dogs" work by applying pressure to the dog’s torso, causes a calming effect as it imitates them being hugged tightly.

It’s important to acclimate the dog to a vest by putting it on periodically during pleasant times. That way the dog won’t always associate the vest with unpleasant occurrences, and will therefore tolerate it better when it is most needed.  

Continuous wear may diminish the effectiveness, so anxiety wraps work best when applied before a stressful event and removed afterwards. This means weather forecasts play a big role in the success rate of the wraps.

💚 There are many other ways to combat storm phobia - especially if severe. If you are at your wit's end and feel your pet is not coping too well, please feel free to give Dr. Karen a call on 5630 1200 to discuss further.